pharmaceutical industry

Pfizer Inc. said yesterday that it will shell out $55 million to bring to an end to litigation surrounding Protonix, an acid reflux drug that Wyeth, now owned by Pfizer, produced and marketed in the early 2000s.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review an appeals court’s decision that generic drug manufacturers can face lawsuits over alleged problems in the design of drugs, regardless of federal protections against design-defect claims.

Pfizer Inc. is opening its coffers yet again, this time to settle a class-action suit involving former Wyeth Inc. shareholders who claim the pharmaceutical company misinformed them about the side effects of its antidepressant, Pristiq.